With rumours of the imposed deadline by the Ottawa Senators of August 14th for a Dany Heatley trade to take place, one has to wonder why Sens GM Bryan Murray didn't input such a deadline back in July?

Murray might have money to spend on a possible UFA to fill a hole if he knew where he stood on cap issues. Instead of forcing the Heatley issue back in July in hopes of not getting his third or fourth choice, buth arther his first choice when it comes to adding a UFA for depth at the forward position, he still has no idea what his roster will look like when training camp opens a month from now.

This Heatley saga has gone on far too long and personally all Murray had to say a few weeks ago was that he wasn't to trade him for the best offer, if Heatley didn't like it then he would be forced to show up at training camp if he had any ambition of playing for Team Canada at the upcoming Winter Olympics. Murray held the ultimate trump card but for some odd reason he hasn't used it until possibly now.

So where does Heatley end up? It will be one of fours teams. The NY Rangers are very much in on the Heatley talks as are the SJ Sharks. Both teams would be approved destinations by Heatley. One team that is flying under the radar recently is the Minnesota Wild. The Wild are willing to do whatever it takes to get Heatley but would Dany boy accept a trade to the Wild? With the Rangers, Sharks and Wild all pushing for Heatley, the last team that I believe number 15 might end up lacing up the skates for is…….none other than your Ottawa Senators. Lets see if Heatley knows where he will be come September by this Friday.

On the goaltender front, I am told by various sources that the Sens are strongly considering signing another goalie as depth move due to the injury history of Pascal Leclaire and Michael Brodeur. It's well documented that Leclaire and Brodeur have had extensive injury problems throughout their careers so this really shouldn't be a surprise to Sens fans. The signing of Andy Chiodo is all but official, his AHL contract should be confirmed anytime now, plus Chiodo has already rented an apartment in Binghamton. Now if Ottawa was to sign a “third goalie” so to speak for Bingo, would Chiodo be the odd man out? The Sens ECHL affiliate is Elmira which is only 50 miles from Bingo, so one has to wonder how it would all shake out. Regardless, it's nice to see the Sens be proactive for once with their AHL team. I am told the goalie that Murray is looking to sign has NHL experience. Should be interesting to see if anything comes of this strong rumour.

As always, you can always reach me at kevinlee@sportstalkbuzz.com[1]. I am currently out of town, so if you e-mail me I won't be able to get back to e-mails promptly like I usually do.